A fifth wheel on a tractor is provided for hitching a trailer to the tractor. It comprises a bearing plate located in a horizontal position with two flanges extending rearwardly of the tractor and sloped downwards towards the back to enable the tractor to slide underneath the trailer. A downwardly extending kingpin is provided on the trailer to engage with the central kingpin opening on the bearing plate which is located between the flanges. The trailer has a flat bearing surface on its underside around the kingpin to match the bearing surface of the bearing plate on the tractor. Lubrication is provided between the bearing surfaces. Although grease has been used for this purpose, the use of a Teflon plate attached to the bearing plate, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,912, has been proposed. However, this method suffers from the disadvantage that the installation thereof is time-consuming. A further disadvantage is that holes need to be drilled in the bearing plate to install the Teflon plate. This causes weakening of the bearing plate. The thickness of the Teflon plate also causes problems due to the fact that the kingpin is, in some instances, not long enough to accommodate the plate between the bearing surfaces. This can cause breakage of the attachment.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a fifth wheel cover which is easy to instal and does not require the drilling of holes into the bearing plate surface.